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User blog:MCN51FJ/Soma's Possible Harem?
Now I have been wondering something. While I know there hasn't been a technical sign of romance in the series, I can't help but wonder about who may end up with Souma in the end. I am pretty sure that I'm not the only one who's thought about Souma having a possible harem. And this harem consists of the five main girls; Erina Nakiri, Megumi Tadokoro, Ikumi Mito, Hisako Arato and Alice Nakiri. Now these are just theories I have about the possiblities that all of these girls harbor special feelings for the protagonist Souma due to what he has done for them that helped changed their ways for the better. I apologize in advance for the long summaries. Here are my theories for each of them: Theory of Erina: Now the relationship between the main protagonist and the main heroine of the series is considered to be the most important and most progressing. As we know, Souma and Erina's relationship started out a bit rocky especially due to their differences as they are considered as polar opposites. While Souma found her to be a spunky chef who is quite spoiled and stuck-up, Erina finds him as a second-rate chef who is annoying and cocky. While she barely tolerated him as she found him as a stain in her otherwise "perfect world", even going as far as not wanting to hear or mention his name and repeatedly attempted to make his school life miserable, Souma still tries to be friendly with her despite her hostility and stubborness. Also, Souma seems to be the only person who is able to get a reaction out of Erina through his demeanor such as unintentionally frustrating and embarrassing her as well as making her blush a bit. As the series progress, their relationship slowly improves starting with Souma revealing that Jouichirou is his father and Souma's willingness to help Erina with her troubles. Now she became more tolerant with him after he helped her remember her goal as a chef, thereby saving her from her dark past in which the two practically became friends, though Erina still acts rather high and mighty. Now, the theory behind this pairing is simple and its likely the pairing that will happen in the end. As I said before, Souma and Erina are polar opposites; Souma is a fun-loving, easy-going and friendly young man coming from a rather humble background who wants to become the ultimate chef that looks for infinity, whereas Erina is a strict, spoiled and confident young lady coming from a rather prestige family who strives to become the greatest chef by aiming for the top. Also, Souma was trained by his father, a professional chef, and possesses an immense will to never give up and experience failure by trying and experimenting everything, while Erina seems to possess talent due to her supreme sense of taste, being nicknamed as "God's Tongue", and tries be a model chef by cooking every food/recipe to its absolute perfection. This relationship can be interpreted as a classic sign of "the forbidden love between the peasant and the princess". The progression is also a giveaway; it starts with them as cocky acquaintances, then to arch rivals, next to friendly rivals, soon to allies and now as friends, growing closer and closer as the series progress. Apparently this may soon or eventually lead to attraction and/or to romance between Souma and Erina. There also seems to be clues/foreshadowing to this relationship from before the two even met as Joichirou tried to tell Souma the secret to becoming a great chef; Souma must meet a woman who he wishes to devote all of his cooking to, showing a family photo of young Souma with his father and mother, and immediately goes to Erina as if to imply that Erina is the woman that will help Souma grow as a chef. To reinforce this implication, after Souma revealed to Erina that he has been cooking for 12 years, he makes a vow to her that he will do everything in his cooking power to make her try a future dish of his and finally make her say "delicious". She became one of his main goals as a chef and often uses her as a source of inspiration to try harder, thereby unknowingly helping him grow as a chef and as a man. Theory of Megumi: Now Souma's relationship with Megumi is quite popular due their partnership and close friendship. She became his first friend at the academy as she recognized him for his skills, innovation and spirit, deeming him as a very special and amazing person, but also discovered his nasty habit of concocting mash-ups and force-feeding her the hard way. She often acted as his sous chef in their team assignments mostly due to her low self-confidence, but proves to have great potential as witnessed by Souma. It was until the 2nd day of the Tootsuki Friendship and Rapport Training, after Megumi failed Kojirou's unfair assignment, Souma defended her honor and tried to save her from expulsion by challenging Kojirou to a Shokugeki, even risking expulsion himself. It was then that Souma became Megumi's sous chef and helped her recieve a draw in the match by using her cooking to sway Kojirou's heart. She became eternally grateful to Souma for everything he has done for her and will always support and cheer for him. Now the theory behind this pairing is more or less the strong implication of Megumi harboring a crush on Souma. While no hard evidence is shown to indicate romantic gestures or moments, Megumi's interactions with Souma often express her deep respect and admiration for him, which would be a sign of "a shy country girl meeting a wonderful boy from another land". At first it seemed that Megumi saw Souma as a good friend and mentor, but her feelings for him grew after he risked his own expulsion to defend and save her; challenging a former 1st Seat who specializes in French cuisine to a duel knowing the odds are against them. Not only was Souma the one person who saw great potential in Megumi when she herself had very little self-confidence, but he also helped her discover her own cooking style, Hospitality, which is a rather huge gesture Souma had done for her. This effectively made Megumi a much better chef than she was before and if anything made Souma and Megumi one amazing cooking team. The clues left by Megumi to indicate her feelings for Souma is her constant blushing when speaking to him, mostly when he is helping her succeed and give her confidence. Also, during the Preliminaries of the 43rd Tootsuki Autumn Elections before she was to prepare a goosefish/monkfish, she was thinking of Souma and used him as her source of inspiration and confidence to help her prepare the dish. Also, after the preliminaries, the two talked on the balcony of their dorm, Megumi seemed amazed by Souma's immense tenacity and his looking forward to the future, and Souma was also impressed with Megumi's progress. She believed that Souma was always there for her and became incredibly happy when he said that he likes her cooking. Note that apparently in the cooking world, stating that you like one's cooking is pretty much the same as saying that you like them, especially between a boy and a girl; it is possible that Megumi assumed Souma likes her in return, causing her to blush in happiness when he said he likes her cooking. A side note is the two seeing each other naked when Megumi was taking a bath, which is a comical sign of possible lovers as Megumi depressingly remembers her mother's words and feels as if she can no longer get married. When she and Souma assisted Satoshi to teach the children at the DEF Kitchen, she recalled her mother's words, saying she "should cook while thinking about someone dear". She then remembered the preliminaries, where she recalled thinking about Souma, which caused her to blush heavily and placed her hand on her heart as she stared at him and later she became flustered about sharing a room with him as well as having a dream of Souma feeding her delicious meals. This seems to be a clear indication that Souma is very dear to Megumi and she may have developed a crush on him, though was too shy to admit it. Theory of Ikumi: Now their relationship started out a bit antagonistic due to Ikumi originally working under Erina as her enforcer to eliminate certain clubs/research societies she deemed unworthy. Originally acting as rivals due to their difference in qualities; Ikumi initially believing that the dishes must have the best quality and expensive ingredients, while Souma believes that any ingredient will work so long as you know to balance them into a dish. This led to Souma's very first official Shokugeki with another student in which the entire school came to watch. Ikumi was confident in her skills, knowledge of meat and her family company's high ranked beef, but was shocked that Souma's simple ingredients and cheap quality meat was able to outdo her own dish. Souma was able to change her mind about quality by letting her taste his dish that made her well up in tears, as it made her remember her childhood and let her know that she can be herself. After Ikumi's ties with Erina were severed, Souma cheered her up by asking to taste her dish and complimenting her. Though she was initially frustrated with her loss as well as angry when being called by her nickname "Nikumi", she developed a crush on Souma after he called her nickname cute and treated her like a cute girl. She does get distressed when Souma is in danger or risking himself to help another, and helps him under the pretense that she only wants Souma to win against a rotten opponent, when in fact she is very worried for and cares about Souma. Ikumi's crush on Souma seems pretty obvious to many, with the exception of Souma himself; her crush evidently changed part of her personality in which she became a tsundere when thinking about, being around or speaking to Souma, often blushing and somewhat stuttering while trying to maintain her tough and cool image and sometimes runs away in embarrassment while shouting at Souma. Additionally, Souma is the only person who Ikumi allows to refer to her by nickname without any consequence. She also tends to get very flattered when Souma praises her skills and knowledge as well as asking for her help on certain matters. She even gave herself an impression that Souma may ask her on a date whenever he suggests that they should spend time together, only to discover that others are involved as well, leaving her very irritated. She also shows signs of jealousy when Souma is around another girl he happens to be acquainted with such as Megumi or Mayumi(and even at one point showed jealousy towards Erina when Ikumi witnessed Souma sitting next to her in the VIP room watching Ryou and Akira's match). One thing to note is that the two hardly or never refer to each other as friends, but as classmates, though Ikumi tries to hide her feelings by claiming that they are rivals/allies as if to convince herself and others that how she feels about Souma is purely professional. She even used Souma as her inspiration and drive to help those she is affiliated with. Ikumi's feelings can be inerpreted as "a tough rich school girl falling for a kind poor school boy." Now the theory I have for this relationship borders mostly around Ikumi's feelings and interactions with Souma. One of the possible reasons why Ikumi never referred to him as her friend was simply due to her not wanting to be "friend zoned" by Souma. Figuring if she were to become his friend, then he may not see her as anything more than just a friend, giving herself a bit of hope that he will like her the same way she likes him, which can somewhat explain why she often distances herself from those close to Souma in order to avoid any indication that they are her friends, despite her occasional visits to the Polar Star Dorm. Notice how Souma's interactions with his friends at the Polar Star Dorm seem rather normal than anything or at least a bit dysfunctional, though he doesn't necessarily seem as close to them as some would think(with the exception of Megumi as she is the only one who is close to Souma). Its possible that Ikumi does not want that type of friendship, so she decides to continue acting as his ally and rival instead and help him out whenever he asks or needs it. She even expresses her annoyance on how she gets hit on by random guys, but not the one guy she is interested in, Souma. Its possible that Ikumi's feelings for Souma will evolve into love should he praise her as a chef or if he actually makes a comment that indicates his interest in her. Theory of Hisako: Now Hisako's relationship with Souma is seen as friendly and cute. At the start, Hisako treated Souma in a similar manner as Erina did and because of Souma's cockiness and slight disrespect towards Erina, Hisako viewed him as a threat and tries to keep him away from Erina. While she was not as hostile towards Souma as Erina was, Hisako did try to keep up appearances by acting upset to see him anywhere near her best friend as well as confident when she expresses her resolve to succeed Erina. Due to her believing that she will succeed Erina as a member of the Elite Ten, Hisako seemed to think that Souma was beneath her in terms of cooking, status and skill, however she became depressed after losing to Akira during the Quarter-Finals of the 43rd Autumn Elections believing she is no longer worthy especially after Akira's harsh comment that her goals, cooking and drive are too small because she focused too much on being another's second. When she and Souma were paired up during the Stagiaire, she was shocked to be paired with her friend's nemesis and tried to act like he is still inferior to her, only to be amazed by Souma's skills and friendly attitude, though she disliked being ordered around by him. Even so, the two see that they make a pretty good team and Souma once commented on how good Hisako looks in an apron causing her to blush in shock. Souma continues to try and lift her spirits up, but to little avail, at least until after the Western Mitamura Stagiaire where she finally opened up to Souma about her sulking. He simply gave her an honest answer she had to hear; that instead focusing on being a chef who walks behind Erina, Hisako should focus on being a friend who walks beside her. Souma's kind words and encouragement for Hisako to return to Erina as her friend caused Hisako to regain her confidence and gain a newfound goal to better herself as a worthy chef. Hisako was touched by Souma's kind words and became much more friendly towards him, much to Erina's surprise. Souma, of course maintains his friendly attitude towards her, but also wanted to see if Hisako was doing okay. Since then, Hisako becomes concerned for Souma whenever she hears he is challenging someone or is in a dangerous situation. She, however, does get frustrated with his recklessness and carefree attitude when he should take matters more seriously and abide by certain rules and standards. She was especially worried for Souma during his Shokugeki with Eishi due to the condition of Souma being forced to work under Central should he lose. When he did lose, Hisako became distressed, but after Eishi decided to drop the stipulations she became relieved. Hisako also expressed her belief that Souma can pull off a miracle, under the certainty that he can and will save the academy from Azami. This seems to be a sign of "a girl who found a kind and noble hero worth believing in", as she believes Souma is capable of saving others through his cooking and most times through his own words of wisdom and encouragement. While this pairing is not as popular as the first three, its still just as recognized due to the first one-on-one interaction they had. Hisako did seem to have developed a heartfelt admiration for Souma since he was the only person who cared enough to set her straight and get her out of her slump. I would say that his encouragement was the only clue that indicates Hisako harboring more than just respect and admiration towards Souma. It is also possible that she may believe that Souma and Erina may end up together, so Hisako would either stand aside and support them or she would attempt to become her best friend's love rival for Souma's heart under the presumption that Souma should be with Hisako herself because they can work together with Erina or at least due to Souma being Hisako's hero. Theory of Alice: Now this relationship is considerably the least known or the least popular compared to the others, which is understandable, however I still have reason to assume that Alice is harboring hidden feelings for Souma. Compared to Erina, Alice is more polite and friendly around Souma, while possessing a rather condescending and spoiled demeanor when speaking to him. Sometimes Alice tends to act rather childish and make somewhat hypocratic remarks to Souma; such as how she mocks his worksmanship as an old outdated way to prepare a dish when she herself seems to also rely on worksmanship to prepare her own dishes, as well as her childish remark about him staring at her as she prepares her dish stating it to be rude when Souma quietly recalled her staring at him during their rapport training. Alice often claimed that she will be the one to defeat the infamous Souma Yukihira with her "advanced" molecular gastronomy skills, showing her overconfidence in her skills and preparations as she was convinced that she would win against him no matter what Souma does, but much to her disbelief and shock, Souma defeated her because her dish lacked the one thing a bento and any dish must contain; a warm heart. Alice recalled taking advantage of the cold and believed that only skills and flavors are what matter in cooking, but Souma helped her see that one's feelings and the warmth of their hearts can make a dish more tasty and satisfying by making the consumer feel happy. It was when Alice's grandfather, Senzaemon, lectured her about how she only took advantage of the cold for her dish and how she merely used her skills to fill the bento box rather than put her heart and soul into it as well, when she should have been thinking about the fun that awaits the consumer, which was what Souma wanted to teach her. After he had her taste his bento, Alice began to feel the warmth of Souma's heart and soul which was enough to make her cry and see what Souma meant about "putting your heart and soul into your cooking", this can be a sign of "a man warming a woman's cold soul with his warm heart". After her loss, Alice started wailing like a child and Souma offered her his hand to get up. She was blushing, presumably from embarrassment, but this can also indicate her developing feelings for him especially when she shyly attempted to thank Souma, until he pretty much ruined the moment by teasing her about surpassing the current Elite Ten, causing her to yell at him in frustration. She claimed that she will catch up to Souma and even continues to maintain her usual polite and friendly attitude towards him. Now I know there is not enough evidence to prove that Alice actually has feelings for Souma, however I have a theory. Due to Alice viewing her dear cousin Erina as her number one rival, she may try to see anything of Erina's interest as an opportunity of challenge to defeat her. Should Erina fall for Souma, its possible that Alice will then see him as an object or a prize for a competition of appeal or affection; simply put that Alice would only use Souma as an excuse to challenge and defeat Erina. However, over time Alice would begin to genuinely fall for Souma as well and ultimately become Erina's love rival for Souma's heart or hand. I also think that Alice, unlike the other girls, would actually be more open about her feelings for him and often make comments, remarks or suggestions about marriage or simply dating, causing the other girls to get annoyed or upset. But hey, that's just a theory, I know that fans tend to pair Alice with her friend and "servant" Ryou or the possibility that she may be trying to push Erina towards Souma and admit her feelings, but Alice being paired with Souma is something to consider as it can be pretty funny as well as sweet. So, these are my theories of Souma having a possible harem. What do you think? Category:Blog posts